World Literary Awards

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Celeste Ng

セレステ・イング

Celeste Ng

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1980-07-30 （Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Shaker Heights, Ohio (childhood–) → Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. (residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Writer
Active Years
2004-
Influenced By
Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things)

Education

Harvard University
Faculty of Arts and Sciences (English & American Literature) / English and American Literature and Language
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Period: 1998-2002
Year of Graduation: 2002
Country: United States
University of Michigan (Helen Zell Writers' Program)
College of Literature, Science, and the Arts / Writers' Program / Creative Writing (MFA)
Degree: MFA
Period: 2004-2007
Year of Graduation: 2007
Country: United States
Won a Hopwood Award while enrolled for the short story 'What Passes Over'.

Awards

Amazon Book of the Year
2014
Work: Everything I Never Told You
Organization: Amazon
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize
2012
Work: Girls, At Play
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞
Alex Award
2015
Work: Girls, At Play
Organization: American Library Association (ALA)
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2020
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Hopwood Award
Work: What Passes Over
Organization: University of Michigan
Result: 受賞
New York Times Notable Book
2014
Work: Everything I Never Told You
Organization: The New York Times
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Everything I Never Told You

2014 Literary fiction / Family drama

Set in 1970s Ohio, the novel focuses on a biracial American family, exploring secrets, expectations, and the aftermath of loss in a literary thriller informed by the author's experiences of race.

FamilyRace and identityExpectation and loss
Adaptations
  • [Television development] Development for limited series
Translations
  • Translated into 15 languages

Little Fires Everywhere

2017 Literary fiction / Social drama

Set in Shaker Heights, Ohio, the novel follows two families—one mother and daughter—whose lives challenge the town's norms, exposing secrets around race, class, and motherhood.

MotherhoodPrivilege and intoleranceCommunity vs individual
Adaptations
  • [Television (miniseries)] Little Fires Everywhere (miniseries) (2020)

Our Missing Hearts

2022 Dystopian-leaning fiction

Set in a future America where racism—particularly against those of Asian descent—is legitimized and free expression stifled, it follows 12-year-old Bird as he rediscovers his dissident mother's art.

Censorship and free expressionParent-child bondsAnti-racism

Bibliography

  • Everything I Never Told You (2014)
  • Girls, At Play (short story, Pushcart Prize anthology, 2012)
  • Little Fires Everywhere (2017)
  • Our Missing Hearts (2022)

Adaptations

  • Little Fires Everywhere (2020 Hulu miniseries adaptation)
  • Everything I Never Told You (television development announced)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Detailed psychological portrayalNarration that probes family interiorsClear, accessible prose with literary depth
Recurring Motifs
Family and secretsConflicts of race and identityMemory and loss

Legacy

A writer who has made a strong mark on contemporary American literature around family and race. Through adaptations and awards she has influenced a broad readership and has been an active voice on public issues.

In Popular Culture

  • TV adaptation of 'Little Fires Everywhere' broadened impact to drama viewers

Quotes

  • "Writing's like shouting into the world."
    Source: The Guardian (interview, 2014) (2014)

Trivia

  • Chinese name: 伍绮诗 (Wǔ Qǐshī).
  • Twitter handle: @pronounced_ing (indicates pronunciation of surname as "ing").
  • Favorite childhood book: Harriet the Spy.
  • In 2018, participated with other writers in auctioning future character names to raise funds for immigrant families.